An early morning protest by Drumcondra residents against the construction of a section of boardwalk along the Tolka river has led to the temporary suspension of work on the development.
The residents, who say they are concerned that anti-social behaviour will get worse if the 100-metre section of walkway is built, are hoping to meet Dublin City Council officials today.
In the meantime, M and P Construction, developer of an apartment scheme on the former HB Dennis site where the new boardwalk was to be built, has told residents that it will not proceed with its construction.
Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin, councillor Aodhán O'Riordan, who attended yesterday's demonstration, said residents were unaware that the boardwalk had been imposed by city council planners as a condition for the granting of planning permission for the apartment complex.
"Richmond Road is in a different electoral area and site notices cannot be viewed from Tolka Road," he said. "If they had known, they would have lodged objections."
Mr O'Riordan added: "Residents need to know that if it is going ahead in any form, they can be reasonably assured that they are not going to suffer what they have before. They need guarantees of support services and guarantees from the gardaí."
Dublin City Council yesterday said that under current proposals, access to the boardwalk would be limited to residents of the new apartment complex.
Newspaper and site notices had advertised the proposed development and included reference to the boardwalk, the development of which was in line with council policy, it said. No written observations were received.
"It is not considered that the proposed boardwalk, limited to the boundary of this site with the river, will seriously affect the amenities of residents in the area, no more than the existing pocket park," the council said.
One protester, Pascal Mooney, who has lived on Tolka Road all his life, said "common sense" indicated that the boardwalk would contribute to anti-social behaviour along the river. This included drinking and drug dealing.
"They throw stones across the river into my garden. I get up in the morning and find broken bottles in my garden," he said. "It will be same here as with the River Liffey boardwalk."